Many modern engineering analyses are performed with the aid of a computer system. One of such computer aided engineering (CAE) analyses is referred to as discrete element method (DEM) or distinct element method, which is generally used for numerically simulating the motion of a large number of particles. With advances in computing power and numerical algorithms for nearest neighbor sorting, it has become possible to numerically simulate millions of particles. Today DEM is becoming widely accepted as an effective method of addressing engineering problems in granular and discontinuous materials, especially in granular flows, powder mechanics, and rock mechanics.
Since DEM requires large number of particles, efficient creation of initial computerized model is critical to the success of a simulation. Otherwise, an infeasible amount of time would be required to generate such model. Prior art approaches for creation such computerized model are based on methods having drawbacks. For example, geometric method lacks of packing density, sedimentation method requires a dropping direction as a Priori (for an arbitrarily-shaped volume, there isn't one) and dynamic method (similar to molecular dynamics) is too slow due extensive computation requirements.
It would therefore be desirable to have methods and systems for efficiently and effectively creating a computerized model containing polydisperse spherical particles packed in an arbitrarily-shaped volume.